when it spent $19 million on campaign ads. >> much of that was against president obama. a lot of it was against democrats running for congress. >> had they spent that much money prior to that? >> no. no. >> reporter: the question now is whether the nra's history will take a new direction after newtown. >> if republicans refuse to bring anything to the floor even for a vote, we'll see that the nra really is still strong-arming elected officials. >> reporter: the nra would not talk to cnn on camera for this story but a spokesman for the group points out the nra is not just picking up what it calls an unprecedented number of new members. the gun lobby is raising money as well for what it predicts will be an expensive and hard-fought battle on gun control. jim acosta, cnn, washington. >>> i want to bring michael and reihan back. that is amazing that the nra at one point was fighting for gun control, they thought it was appropriate and it has since become a much more absolutist organization. i'm curious about this unprecedented spike in membership. i did the math quickly so i